Garment hanger for curing oven conveyor



Dec."'23, T969 5. A. STILL. JR

' GARMENT HANGER FOR CURING OVEN CONVEYOR Filed July 31, 1968 SAMUEL A. STILL, JR.

' ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,485,424 GARMENT HANGER FOR CURING OVEN CONVEYOR Samuel A. Still, In, Orangeburg, S.C., assiguor to Still- Walter Tool & Manufacturing Company, Orangeburg, S.C., a corporation of South Carolina Filed July 31, 1968, Ser. No. 749,108 Int. Cl. A47j 51/47 US. Cl. 223-96 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hanger structure particularly adapted to support trousers or skirts while the same are being conveyed through a permanent crease curing oven. The hanger includes resilient garment-engaging elements capable of gripping the garment without producing a permanent mark thereon.

A number of unique problems have arisen in connection with the new press-free or permanent crease garment manufacturing industry. One such problem concerns the supporting of trousers and the like during conveying through the relatively high temperature curing oven without permanently marking or lining the garment. Conventional grip-type garment hangers are unsatisfactory in this respect in that they tend to produce a permanent line or mark on the garment after curing.

In light of this, the invention resides in a hanger constructed particularly to solve the troublesome problem of supporting the garments securely during their passage through the oven without permanently marking them so as to lessen their saleability. Other objectives will appear during the following description.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a garment hanger constructed in accordance with the invention and associated with an oven conveyor mechanism;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, taken at right angles to FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the same, the numeral designates an overhead trolley conveyor track employed within a curing oven for permanent crease garments. A plurality of conveyor trollies 11 engage the track 10 and travel thereon and are propelled by a flexible cable 12 securely clamped to each conveyor trolley by a clamping structure 13. r

The hanger unit proper forming the essence of the invention comprises a bracket 14 firmlysecured at 15 'to the conveyor trolley and having a bottom horizontal bar 16 extending longitudinally of the element 12. The bar 16 carries preferably a pair of identical hanger units 17 and the invention is not limited in this respect since one or any practical number of the units 17 may be included on each trolley. A pair of the units 17 is ideal from the standpoint of balance and convenience of use.

Each hanger unit 17 consists of a stilt inverted U-shaped mounting bracket 18 having its top web rigidly secured by rivets 19 or the like to one end portion of the bar 16. Substantially vertical dependent spring arms 20 are riveted at 21 or otherwise fixedly secured to the vertical sides of the bracket 18 and extend substantially below the bracket.

Elongated cylindrical opposed garment-gripping bars or elements 22 are secured by rivets 23 or the like to the bottoms of the spring arms 20. The bars 22 are of equal length and preferably have closed tapered ends 24 and are preferably of a diameter ranging from inch outside diameter to about 1%. The gripping bars 22 are at the same elevation and are normally held in tangential contact by the spring arms 20 which are tensioned to bias the bars 22 inwardly toward contact. The bars 22, FIGURE 2, are sufficiently long to extend across and beyond the sides of trouser legs 25 or like apparel, such as skirts. The lengths of the bars 22 may be varied depending upon their application. The bars 22 may conveniently be formed from metal tubing so as to be lightweight and sturdy.

In use, the skirt or trousers to be conveyed through the curing oven are simply slid between the gripping bars 22 of each hanger unit 17 and the tapered ends 24 facilitate the passage of the garment into the hanger without diificulty or without snagging the cloth. The spring arms 20 exert a constant and firm gripping action on the garment to adequately support the garment but sufficiently gentle so that no damage will occur. The hanger unit 17 thus constitutes a resilient clasp which requires no adjustment and no screw-threaded parts or the like.

The smooth relatively large diameter cylindrical gripping bars 22 grip the garment on opposite sides thereof as shown in FIGURE 1 and the curvature of the bars enables the garments to be supported securely without producing a permanent line or marking thereon during the permanent press curing operation. It has been discovered by experimentation that no other form of gripping device is satisfactory for adequately supporting the garment without marking the same. Opposing flat surfaced jaws produce a mark as do small diameter wires or bars. Point contact gripping elements, including ball elements, produce a mark and furthermore allow sagging of the garment in between the points of contact. It has been found that the cylindrical gripping bars ranging in diameter from about inch to 1%" produce the desired results and leave no permanent mark whatsoever on the garment.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A hanger device for garments passing through a permanent crease curing oven, said device comprising a supporting member adapted for connection with a conveyor part in the oven, and a resilient garment clasping unit on said member including a pair of opposed gar-ment gripping bars and a resilient arms carrying the bars and biasing them toward one another in gripping relationship, said bars being at least in part approximately cylindrically curved and the cylindrical portions of the bars being opposed for normal tangential contacting gripping relationship, said clasping unit comprising a U-bracket on the supporting member including substantially vertical dependent sides, a pair of spaced opposed spring arms secured to the sides of the U-bracket and extending therebelow and being spring-tensioned inwardly toward each other, and said gripping bars being substantially horizontal and elongated and cylindrical and being attached to the spring arms in opposed normally tangentially contacting relation throughout their entire lengths, said gripping bars being of equal diameter and said diameter being approximately one inch measured across the outside of each bar.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said garment gripping bars are an opposed parallel pair of cylindrical bars of equal diameter and equal length and said diameter in claim I mounted on the opposite end portions of said is in the range of inch to 1%" outside diameter. bar member in substantially balanced relationship.

3. The structure of claim 2, wherein each gripping bar is tapered at its opposite ends and each bar is of sufiicient References Cited length gotspjan thg 31111 width of trgrser legs anddto eJrftetrtild 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS fi e creases e Opposlte es 0 6 2,589,926 3/1952 Cook 223-91 4. The structure of claim 1, wherein the gripping bars 353:5;

d fi d 1 are secure xedly to the interior si es of the spring arms 3,061,155 10/1962 Van Dusen 223-96 5. The structure of claim 1, and wherein said supporting 10 member is a substantially horizontal bar member having a center portion adapted for connection with said con- MERVIN STEIN Primary Exammer veyor part, and a pair of said clasping units as defined GEORGE H. KRIZMMANICH, Assistant Examiner 

